Always and Forever (21 page)

Colt looks from Amelia to Brody. “If she knew the baby wasn’t yours yet she was obtaining
money from you, and, yes, I believe she was taking a cut, that’s extortion. She could
go to prison.”

Holy shit. Holy shit!

I glance up at Brody and he looks just as in shock as I am.

“Okay, here are the pictures I’ve got. I snapped some of Ms. White and Mr. Phillips
but the child’s are from Ms. White’s Facebook page.” Colt pulls some eight by ten
photos from the folder then stands and walks over handing them to Brody.

I find I’m a bit nervous to look. If the baby looks like Brody, well, there you go.
It’s not that I wouldn’t want to help raise him. It’s just that I’m not really looking
forward to dealing with the child’s mother for the next eighteen years.

I look anyway and see that Hannah is actually a pretty and petite blond woman. But
there’s no way to hide the fact that she’s had a hard life. I can see it in her eyes.
Her hair is long and a bit stringy looking and I know Ryan would have a cow if she
saw the dark roots that show. Her boyfriend is a little scary. He looks “hard” which
is the only word I can think to describe him.

Brody goes through the first four pictures which are of Hannah and the boyfriend but
the next one is of the baby. It’s a recent picture because he appears to be around
five-months old and he’s a beautiful baby with big eyes set above adorable chubby
cheeks. But it’s fairly obvious from the mess of curly black hair on his head that
he’s mixed and is probably Hannah’s boyfriend’s child. We look at the rest of the
pictures and I think it’s confirmed that he’s not Brody’s.

I look up at him and give him a sad smile. It’s sad because the baby is a precious
little boy and I hope he’s being well taken care of and that Hannah has taken a break
from her criminal activities. The look Brody gives me back is full of relief but there’s
sadness in it too which I know is from the hell he’s been put through the last year.

He gets up and hands the pictures to Kade then sits back down by me taking my hand
and putting it on his thigh and covering it with his.

“Any questions?” Colt asks.

Brody shakes his head. “I’m not sure how to feel.”

“I understand. To clear some things up. When Ms. Chapman contacted me, she’d said
Ms. White had fled because her boyfriend, who was a known gang member, had beaten
her up when he found out the baby wasn’t his. I’ve had no confirmation that she ever
left Georgia. The apartment where she lives with Mr. Phillips has been in both their
names for the past two years. I think it was a fabrication to keep you from looking
for her and finding that the child isn’t yours.”

Carolina gets up and I can tell she’s upset. She glances around the room at Cassie,
Amelia and me and says, “Girls, I need help in the kitchen, please,” then walks out
of the living room.

I stand to follow her but Brody grabs my hand and pulls me down to where I have to
put a hand on his thigh to keep my balance. He brings his hands up to hold my face.
“Thank you.” His eyes say it all and I smile just before he pulls me forward a bit
and touches his lips to mine.

Chapter 18

When I get to the kitchen, I see Cassie and Amelia are trying to keep from laughing
at Carolina’s ranting as she pulls a roast from the oven.

“I oughta call Jerry and Yvonne and tell them what a, what a
bitch
their daughter is!”

Now I know why the girls want to laugh because I don’t think I’ve ever heard Carolina
cussing before.

“Do it,” Cassie goads. “I’d love to see Peyton get knocked down a peg or two. Her
being sent to jail would be the icing on the cake.”

“Amelia, can you get the plates out, please?” Carolina asks.

“I don’t understand how Peyton ended up being friends with this Hannah in the first
place,” Amelia remarks as she pulls plates out of the cabinet.

“Maybe they worked the streets together at some point,” Cassie suggests and we all
laugh.

“Cassie!” her mother scolds but I can see she’s amused. “Okay, Cassie, put the green
beans in the pot on the stovetop. The steamer and water are already in there. Piper,
honey, can you get the utensils and help Amelia set the table, please?”

“Of course,” I say and go to the drawer where I know the flatware has always been
kept.

In the dining room, Amelia sets the plates around the table. “I’ve loathed that woman
since high school. I don’t get how anyone can be that devious.”

I shake my head as I follow behind her and place the cutlery on the sides of each
plate. “I don’t know either. She must be really bored to have so much time to mess
with other people’s lives.”

“If she knew that this child wasn’t Brody’s, she’s got to pay for it.”

“Yeah, but her dad being a lawyer and all. He’s probably got friends who can get her
off.”

“But her reputation, although stellar as it already is,” she snorts at this, “will
definitely be ruined.”

I nod. “I’m just glad Brody’s off the hook.”

“Yes, but Kade and I talked. He’s going to have to talk to Larry and explain everything,
especially about the being drugged part. At least he’s got Colt to back him up on
the other things now. With Hannah’s background it’ll be more believable at least.”

Larry Fox is the fire chief and I can’t imagine he’d hold Brody responsible for any
of it.

~~~

The next two weeks go off without a hitch. Things have gotten back to normal as far
as my life is concerned. Brody and I split our nights between each other’s places.
He’s talked to his chief about everything and Larry understood telling Brody he had
nothing to worry about, so that worked out great. He didn’t hand his child support
payment to Peyton at the first of the month and surprisingly, she hasn’t come to collect.
Yet.

My new refrigerator was delivered and I love it because it’s completely awesome. I
made sure to thank Brody properly again (and yet again) for his generosity.

Drew Reynolds asked Ryan out but she was afraid she’d be too loud for him since he’s
so shy. I told her opposites attract and to have fun. She called me the night of their
date after he’d taken her home and told me they decided to just be friends because
he was just too quiet for her.

I’ve scheduled Darby to work thirty hours a week which thrilled her. I’m thrilled
too because it means I get to have a few evenings off every week.

Today is Valentine’s Day and tonight we’re going to the VD Bash that Mags and Jen
put on. They started this about five years ago where people make reservations to have
dinner at Mags’ then go a few doors down for a party at Jen’s. Patty’s Petals jumped
in with them a year later giving people the option to have flowers or candy sent to
their Valentine.

I’m excited to give Brody his presents one of which is the usual silly pair of boxer
briefs that are black with red hearts on them. But his real gift is the two tickets
to an Orioles game along with hotel accommodations for him and two others, be it Kade
and Jeremy or whoever he wants to take. I know he’s going to be so excited.

I’m dressed in the cutest outfit for tonight which is a strapless scarlet dress that
hits me mid-thigh with a sweetheart neckline that has a thick, glittery red belt sewn
to it. The best part is the red tulle under the skirt that makes it really poof out.
I’m wearing my matching scarlet satin stilettos that will add five inches to my height
so my head will be right at Brody’s chin. I’ve got my hair pinned up in a messy bun,
so it might add another inch. Whoopee.

“Damn,” Brody says at the door of my bathroom. I look at his reflection in the mirror
as I put on the deep red lipstick that’s just right for my coloring. A lot of red
shades clash with my strawberry blond hair but this one was picked by Ryan for me
specifically. When I finish applying it, I turn to look at him and suck in a breath.

“Damn yourself. You look hot!”

He grins and holds the lapels of the dark blue suit he’s wearing and attempts to model
for me which makes me laugh. The white shirt underneath with a tie that’s a darker
blue than the suit looks excellent on him. A black belt and black shoes finish his
look. My word, my man is handsome.

“Thanks. You always look hot but tonight you look especially gorgeous,” he says, coming
into the bathroom and leaning down to kiss my bare shoulder which makes me shiver.

“Brody Kelly, you stop this instant before I’m tempted to throw you on the floor and
have my way with you hence messing up our outfits not to mention making us late to
dinner.” I point a finger at his reflection in the mirror as he stands behind me.

He holds up his hands in surrender. “Far be it from me to make us late for Mags’ roast
beef.”

“Where’ve you been?” I ask as I use a brush to dust powder over my face. He’d left
a couple hours ago telling me he needed to see a horse about a man making me give
him a weird face at which he’d chuckled.

“Had to take care of some business.” He waggles his eyebrows at me and I shake my
head as I look at him in the mirror.

“So mysterious.”

“That’s me, mystery man. You ‘bout ready?” He grins into the mirror at me.

I finish with the powder then smile at him and tell him, “I am. Let’s go!”

~~~

We’re seated at a table for two and have already placed our orders. Mags has gone
all out this year with the decorations. Everything’s either red or pink and glittery
or sparkly.

“Looks like Russell Stover threw up in here,” Brody remarks before taking a drink
of his beer.

This makes me laugh. “God, I so totally love you,” I announce.

His eyes go warm as he looks at me but there’s also a bit of wicked intent in them
which is just Brody. It’s how he’s always been, easygoing but there’s always just
a bit of orneriness behind his sweet smile.

“Back atcha, gorgeous,” he says and raises his beer mug out to me. I pick up my wine
glass and hold it out to him, clinking it against his mug when he says, “To us. Always
and forever.”

Dinner is fantastic, as was to be expected, and after we thank Mags for it, we walk
hand-in-hand down to Jen’s. Once inside, we see that Jen, too, has covered every available
space in Valentine décor but she’s added streamers and balloons to the mix.

“I see Russell Stover’s brother, Whitman’s did a drive-by upchuck,” Brody comments
making me laugh yet again.

We find Ryan and Drew (yes, she agreed to go out with him “just one more time”) and
sit at their table. Brody helps me up on my barstool because my heels are a bit hard
to maneuver in.

“What’s up, you lovely people?” Ryan asks.

“What’s up with you, beautiful people?” I say right back with a laugh because they
do look great together. She’s wearing her blond hair down in soft curls and has done
her hazel eyes in dramatic evening shades. She’s wearing the forest green, clingy,
very short and very low V-necked dress she bought on a shopping spree we made to Richmond
right after Christmas. It looks fabulous on her, making her look like the model that
she once was and should still be. Her four-inch black stiletto pumps make her almost
as tall as Drew but she loves her height and never shies away from heels of any length.

Drew has on a black suit over a white shirt that he wears casually with no tie and
unbuttoned. His blond hair is spiked and he looks very hot.

“You two look like movie stars,” I gush.

Ryan bursts out laughing and looks at Drew whose face is turning every shade of red.
“Who should we be, Drew? Bogey and Bacall? No, wait, he had dark hair.”

“I, uh, don’t know who that is,” he replies and she stares at him as do I. “What?”
he asks, his face turning an even darker red.

Ryan looks at me, all, See? as if proving her point about him. I snort and look up
at Brody who looks down at me, amusement on his face.

“Who would we be?” he asks me.

I look back at Ryan. “Who
would
we be?”

“Hm. Actresses who’re redheads. Nicole Kidman and…”

“Swear to fuck, you say Tom Cruise…” Brody warns.

There’s an impish glimmer in Ryan’s eyes and I wait for her to say it but she surprises
me and answers, “Keith Urban.” She looks at me. “He’s been through enough shit lately.
Thought I’d cut him a break.” She winks at Brody then grabs Drew’s arm. “Let’s go
dance!” and pulls him toward the dance floor as he looks back at us with a desperate
look on his face.

Brody snorts. “He’d better be careful. She just might find she likes bossing him around
and decide to keep him.”

Everything’s going great. Cassie and Jeremy stop by to say hi and Kade and Amelia
join us. Before Cassie and Jeremy go, we all share a toast of the free champagne that
Jen’s is serving. Around eleven o’clock, we hear a commotion out on the dance floor
and I hear Brody and Kade mutter a “Fuck” in unison then they both run toward the
floor.

“What in the world?” I ask Amelia who shakes her head, as clueless as I am. And that’s
when I hear Ryan scream out a “Hey!” I hop off my barstool, which isn’t pretty, mind
you, and push my way through the crowd.

Ryan and Drew have been dancing almost the entire time because, well, Ryan loves to
dance. And she’s good at it but she can also get a little dirty while she’s at it.
Right before the disturbance, Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” was playing and I can only imagine
the moves she was making to it.

“I said back the fuck off,” I hear Drew warn and look over to see him in Mike’s face
when I get by the people standing floor side.

Shit! I mean, I’m entirely impressed that Drew’s being so forceful, but Shit! no less.

Ryan’s standing at his side, arms across her chest looking supremely pissed off.

“I just wanted to dance with the lady,” Mike slurs. Oh, great. He’s drunk. Nice.

I’d seen him come in with Stacia (who was dressed to the skanky nines tonight… not
meaning to judge but her ass was seriously hanging out of her dress) and he wasn’t
looking very happy. Then I’d watched her leave him at their table as soon as they
sat and she’d been flitting around the bar ever since, flirting with everyone who
carried a Y chromosome.